Orthodontics is a specialized dental practice concerned with the movement of teeth to achieve an effective mating of the upper and lower teeth and/or concerned with providing a pleasing facial contour and/or pleasing appearance of the teeth. Tooth movement is generally accomplished by applying a force to the tooth in the direction of desired movement. A relatively long-term application of corrective force of the proper level will cause the root of the tooth to move within the supporting bone to enable tipping, rotation, translation, and/or other tooth movements needed to appropriately align the tooth.
Corrective force may be provided to a tooth via the force exerted by a stressed or activated elastic element coupled to an adjacent tooth. Elastic elements include elements such as, for example, a flexible metal wire, metal spring, coil spring assemblies, band, or similar devices. Recently, one or more such elements have been utilized in connection with temporary anchorage devices (TADs). A TAD is a device that is temporarily fixed to bone structure of a patient for the purpose of enhancing and providing sufficient orthodontic anchorage. The TAD remains substantially fixed in position in the bone structure and thereby provides substantially absolute anchorage. A TAD may include all variations of implants, screws, and pins and so forth placed for the purpose of providing orthodontic anchorage.
TADs are often used to indirectly anchor an anchor tooth while assisting in the movement of other teeth that are adjacent to the anchor tooth. In other words, the TADs may be utilized to hold an anchor tooth in its current position and that anchor tooth may be coupled to other adjacent teeth with a stressed or activated elastic element to thereby cause the adjacent tooth to move. Currently, indirect anchorage techniques utilizing a TAD involve only securing a wire ligature to the TAD and to the anchor tooth in order to prevent the anchor tooth from moving in a first direction, generally away from the TAD. The anchor tooth may be coupled to one or more other adjacent teeth utilizing elastic elements that function to move the other adjacent teeth in a second direction generally opposite the first direction. Thus, current indirect anchorage techniques utilize a TAD and wire ligature to restrict movement of the anchor tooth in only a single general direction. As a result, current indirect anchorage techniques only allow other adjacent teeth coupled to the anchor tooth to be moved in a single general direction with respect to the anchor tooth.